the service schedule calls for a brake fluid flush at 30K. Do you guys have it done? Some service people call fluid flushes....wallet flushes because it's primarily profit for dealerships. I can see how Subarus would be hard on brake fluid because it is used for the vdc/abs.

What do you guys think? Wait til 50K?

NickH

08-05-2012 09:32 PM

Do it at 30k.

Nick

meier motor sports

08-05-2012 09:35 PM

oh yeah traction control and abs just kills the brake fluid.

yes paying a dlr for a fluid flush is going to cost more money then doing it yourself. keep your car maintained and prevent future break downs.

Types4

08-05-2012 09:43 PM

Do it, just did mine and the pedal is nice a firm again.

CL21376

08-06-2012 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hmmrdwn
(Post 4013986)

the service schedule calls for a brake fluid flush at 30K. Do you guys have it done? Some service people call fluid flushes....wallet flushes because it's primarily profit for dealerships. I can see how Subarus would be hard on brake fluid because it is used for the vdc/abs.

What do you guys think? Wait til 50K?

I bleed/flush my brakes every year. Have you looked into the motive power bleeder?

It works great for DIY jobs, and you don't need a second person. Switch between ATE Blue and Amber and it's real easy to see when you've got all the old fluid out.

acumenhokie

08-06-2012 06:06 AM

I do mine once a year as well.

Peaty

08-06-2012 06:30 AM

1 Attachment(s)

I do mine every spring, it's not hard. Just remember Subaru's are a diagonal system and the order is not what you would normally think. I also like to get speed bleeders on my cars to make it easier. If you don't want to get those, you don't need a fancy power bleeder one of these work well:

In the end I usually have one of my kids or wife help push the brake pedal. I don't mind the old fashion way.

PoManzAWD

08-06-2012 08:54 AM

Would your average EJ 2.5i driver notice a difference? I doubt it.

Would it effect your ABS/VSA module in the long term? Hard to say.

Dirt should stay in the lowest point of the caliper bores, just like it has since the inception of disk brakes. Regardless of what people say, fluid does not circulate through the system. It's not like there's a 'return line' from each caliper, back to the reservoir, etc. The crud that collects in the caliper bores does not get sucked back up into the system. You'd physically have to force it back up.

Hondas call for the same thing. Probably less than 1 in 10 people do it and I know my Honda dealer never pushes it. I'm thinking about doing it on our 2008 Odyssey given I'm currently at ~54K miles. All I've done to it is new pads all the way around and replaced some torn caliper pin boots I tore in the process. :mad:

Joel

Peaty

08-06-2012 09:09 AM

When the brake fluid heats up due to the friction from the brake pads on the rotor being transferred to the fluid, the hot fluid will migrate towards the cold area, so there will be some circulation via convection currents. The fluid does not circulate like say the coolant but it does move around and migrate. Also, brake fluid is very hygroscopic and the system is not closed. The cap is open to the air. Brake fluid will gather moisture from the air that lowers the boiling point and can cause brake fade. Moisture in the fluid is also bad for the ABS and other components.

That's true Peaty. You can't argue about the hygroscopic deal, but for your average driver under typical conditions- would take a lot longer than 2-3yrs and ~30K miles to be a big deal.

I think most of us like to over-maintain our vehicles anyway, so it's all good. I know the next owners of my vehicles should love me.

Joel

Peacesells

08-06-2012 05:04 PM

had subaru flush my brakes and check my pads when my brakes had high spots in them. they said i had 80% left on my front pads and 50% on the rear *due to parking brake* i have 41k on the car and they said theyve never seen this little wear on a car that spends half its life driving back and forth from big bear to sd. also the tech said my fluid looked fine when i had it replaced. honestly the brakes felt the exact same after all that. haha

Peaty

08-06-2012 05:44 PM

2 Attachment(s)

Um, the parking brake has nothing to do with the rear pads. The parking brake is a separate set of shoes inside the hub of the rotor. I'm not sure how they explained the 50%. If this is the original set of brakes and the rears go before the fronts (fronts being what about 75% of the stopping resistance) I'd suspect a sticking caliper.

As for not feeling a difference with a fluid flush that's a good thing. By the time you can tell something is bad it's kind of too late. That's why they call it "preventative maintenance" ;)

Peacesells

08-06-2012 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peaty
(Post 4015112)

Um, the parking brake has nothing to do with the rear pads. The parking brake is a separate set of shoes inside the hub of the rotor. I'm not sure how they explained the 50%. If this is the original set of brakes and the rears go before the fronts (fronts being what about 75% of the stopping resistance) I'd suspect a sticking caliper.

As for not feeling a difference with a fluid flush that's a good thing. By the time you can tell something is bad it's kind of too late. That's why they call it "preventative maintenance" ;)

i got the flush done regardless. i even used the same brake fluid that was suggested by another member here and i thought id notice the difference but its the same jsut easier to change now. Also i think since its obviously not the totally annoying electric parking brake its probably since my car spent 20,000 of its miles in snow with the allwheel drive working overtime to keep it stable , i notice itll use the brakes on its own to correct a wheel thats losing traction. that would be my assumption on the pads but hey could be more than that. its all good i plan on keeping my car another year then just getting a wrx or sti anyway :p

hmmrdwn

08-07-2012 02:44 AM

Thanks for all the great information!

PoManzAWD

08-13-2012 01:27 PM

Wow do p-brake in rotor hat systems SUCK if you live in the rust belt and the vehicle has some miles on it.:mad:

I know on my 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe, I wound up breaking a bunch of springs, clips and pins on the parking brakes (shoes) during a pad/rotor change. I couldn't 'back-off' the P-brake shoes because the manual adjusters were rusted solid. The only way to get those rear rotors off was to muscle them off. It was highly unpleasant and I had to order a box of little brake parts to put the system back together again. Luckily CarQuest had the kits aftermarket. Otherwise each little part would have to be ordered separately from Hyundai at huge cost.